Door and window assemblies are commonly sold in retail settings. These doors and windows can be large, heavy, and cumbersome to handle and transport. Devices and methods that facilitate the handling and transportation of such doors and windows by customers and sales staff can reduce physical strain on individuals, as well as reduce damage to these goods.
Plastic handles that attach directly to wooden doors and windows can be used to transport wooden doors and windows. One such handle is manufactured by LCS Precision Molding and is marketed as LCSR2466 Lift Handle. Generally, a pair of such plastic handles is screwed directly onto opposing sides of a frame of a wooden door. The jamb on a wooden door is typically hidden inside a wall when installed in a building structure. Thus, several screw holes in a wooden frame remaining after the handles have been removed are of little consequence to the structural integrity or appearance of the wooden door or window.
Many door and window assemblies, however, are made of vinyl rather than wood. The handles described above that can be attached directly to wooden doors and windows cannot be used on vinyl doors and windows without marring the outward, finished appearance or adversely affecting the structural integrity of vinyl doors and windows. Thus, vinyl doors and windows sold in a retail setting generally include wooden framing on top of or around the door on which to attach a handle.
Such framing for doors and windows, however, increases the cost and weight of the door or window. The increased cost can be attributed to the extra packaging materials required as well as additional manufacturing steps and labor involved in applying the additional packaging to the doors and windows. Additionally, the purchaser expends additional time and labor to remove the packaging. Moreover, this additional packaging typically is not recycled, and thus, increases waste, which likely is ultimately disposed of in a landfill.
What is needed are products and processes that can improve the handling and transportation of door and window assemblies.